Very interesting thread, I was surprised to see how many curlies diffuse with low heat. My hair would never, ever dry like that I always use high heat, low setting for my hair. I never air dry, and so far I don't see any discernible damage to my hair. I have been curly for 15 months, and diffuse 2-3 times a week. When I first started I diffused every day. The breakthrough video for me on diffusing is here How To Style Naturally Curly Hair (complete tutorial) - YouTube
Before watching this, I had flat roots and weird clumps all over the place but I think the flipping gives me more natural placement of the curls.